Holder for kneeling pads



Patented Sept. 1, 1936 fftnair'an STATES PATENT OFFICE Abraham Furtzaig, New York, N. Y.

Application October 4, 1935, Serial No. 43,498

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a holder for kneeling pads, and the object of the invention is to provide a simple, sturdy and useful device which enables its user to easily move from place to place on a floor without requiring him to arise from a kneeling position.

Painters, floor-scrapers, scrub women and others who have occasion to constantly kneel in order to work on floors usually utilize a kneeling pad to provide protection for the knees. These pads are often composed of a sheet of thick sponge rubber, and are also sometimes in the form of a cushion-like pad. To shift the pad from place to place as the user moves about the floor, requires the user to constantly arise, shift the pad and then kneel on it. This action, repeated a great number of times during the day, not only consumes considerable time, but also requires a considerable expenditure of eifort. The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a holder for a kneeling pad, which is easily mobile about the floor, andcan be slid from place to place while the user remains in a kneeling position on it, so that constant arising from the pad and shifting of it is avoided, and work on the floor resultantly expedited.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a flat member of suitable material and of a size sufiicient to support the pad, the under face of the sheet being provided with anti-friction casters or sliders to facilitate its easy sliding movement about the floor while supporting the weight of the user upon the pad.

In the accompanying drawing wherein an em bodiment of the invention is shown, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved holder; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a part of the holder and pad on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing a modified means of attaching the sliders to the bottom of the holder; Fig. 4 is a plan View of the structure shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan View of one of the casters or sliders shown in Fig. 4, before it has been applied to the holder; Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a modified form of caster or slider applied to the bottom of the holder; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the caster or slider shown in Fig. 6.

In the drawing It indicates the flat body of the supporting member, which is preferably composed of any suitable sheet material, such as sheet metal, although it may be made of wood or any other satisfactory material of substantial strength. The support is made in any suitable form and preferably in the general rectangular shape shown, to receive and support on its upper face a kneeling pad ll of substantially similar shape. 5

The pad ll may be composed of any soft, compressible material and for this purpose relatively thick and soft sponge rubber has been found satisfactory. Said pad may, however, be of any suitable padded cushion-like form. The pad is 10 preferably, although not necessarily, not attached to the member IE], but merely rests removably thereon. The marginal edge of the supporting member H) is rolled or curled to provide a bead l2 extending completely around it. This 5 bead serves to prevent lateral shifting movement or displacement of the pad II, to an extent sufiicient to prevent the pad from moving from off the member ID, thus maintaining it in its proper position on the upper face of the supporting member II).

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bottom of the supporting member I0 is provided with a plurality of spaced casters or sliders l3, which are in the form of rounded, dome-like members, and are produced by being pressed out of the body of the member ID, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. It will be obvious that these sliders or casters when supporting the member ID on the floor l4 olfer very little frictional resistance to sliding movement of the supporting member about the floor, so that the user, while remaining in a kneeling position on the pad H, may easily slide the holder and pad as a unit from place to place on the floor without arising from his kneeling position. The convenience of this will be readily understood by painters, floor scrapers and others who have occasion to work on the floor, since it permits the user to move about speedily without arising each time that a change of position is required.

In Fig. 3 a modified structure is shown wherein the type of dome-like slider or caster is that shown in Fig. 5. There the caster I5 is provided with spaced prongs or tongues l6 which are forced through openings in the support I 0 and clenched over as shown in Fig. 4 to attach the caster to the bottom of the support. Such a caster as shown in Fig. 5 is preferably formed of sheet metal.

In Fig. 6 a further modification is shown wherein the caster is composed of solid material and has a rounded, dome-shaped portion H, from which protrudes the prongs or tongues l8 that are passed through openings in the supporting member l0 and clenched over, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

While I have shown the casters applied to the underface or bottom of the support In as being in the form of rounded, dome-shaped members, it will be understood that other various types of anti-friction sliders or casters may be used.

What I claim is:

A kneeling pad holder comprising a flat, sheet metal supporting tray on which a kneeling pad is adapted to be removably supported, said .tr'ay having its entire edge rolled up to form a continuous rounded bead of uniform height and .of less height than the height of the pad. when located on the tray, and extending completely around the edge of the tray and having no portions extending above the upper surface of the pad, the bottom of said tray being provided with a plurality of spaced anti-friction domed. casters on which the tray is supported and on which the user can slide about the floor while resting in a kneeling position on the pad, said casters having fastening means for attaching them to the'supporting tray, said fastening means comprising prongs which penetrate the tray and are clenched over on the upper side thereof and are covered by the pad held on the tray, said pad being removably supported on the tray and prevented from shifting off the same by the con- 

